OU Football: Regents approve North Video Board upgrade

by John Moss

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The fan experience at Oklahoma football games is getting another upgrade with the addition of a new state-of-the-art video display on the north end of the stadium. The OU Board of Regents approved the acquisition and installation of the project on Wednesday.

The installation of the new north board is expected to begin this spring and will be ready for the start of the 2018 season. The display will be similar to the technology and resolution of the south end board, which was installed prior to the 2016 season. Picture clarity will receive a significant upgrade as the pixel resolution will more than double over the previous board.

At 2,356 square feet (38 feet high by 62 feet wide), the north board will be more than three times larger than the current board located in that space and taller than the old south board that was removed prior to the 2016 season. The new board will be similar to what many Sooner fans witnessed at the Rose Bowl and will replicate the video space that is dedicated to live action and replays on the current south board.

The amount of space dedicated to game action and replays will be similar to what appears in the center block of the south board.

"This has been part of our master plan for some time and we're delighted to get the new high-definition board in place," said Joe Castiglione, vice president and athletics director at OU. "This will provide a greatly-improved fan experience especially for those seated in the south end zone. We're already discussing the programming of the new board and will focus almost exclusively on live action and replays."

Brandon Meier, associate athletics director for broadcasting and the director at SoonerVision, underscored Castiglione's description of the board's use.

"We know that a fan's greatest desire with any video board is to see high quality replays, and that will be our direction," Meier said. "Other game information will still be available on ribbon boards and other boards in the stadium, but the north board will be free of anything that would infringe on seeing game action. And this new board and the amount of space we dedicate to similar video on the south board will be roughly the same. In terms of seeing game action and replays, everyone in the stadium will enjoy a similar experience."

The athletics department also plans to add new LED boards, one each in the in-stadium concessions plazas located in the southwest and southeast corners of the stadium. They will be used for informational purposes.